Shaheen Bagh to Mumbai Bagh: Agitation against CAA, NRC continues

Close to 72 hours after it started, the sit-in on Mordell Road at Mumbai Central is still going strong with women managing their family and the protest. The agitation has gained popularity as Mumbai Bagh since it is similar to the month-long protest being held at Shaheen Bagh in Delhi. The road has been closed to motorists for the past two months, a freshly concretised under-construction road in the bylanes of Mumbai Central became the new protest spot for hundreds of Muslim women from adjoining neighbourhoods, who assembled to oppose the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) and “create Mumbai’s Shaheen Bagh”.

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Among themselves, they arranged for chairs for the elderly, and flasks of tea with paper cups were passed around throughout the day. Bamboo shoots bearing the Tricolour, which was earlier seen in the hands of the protesters, became permanent fixtures by evening. The agitation against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC) started around 11 p.m. on Sunday with women gathering outside Arabia Hotel near Nagpada. The gathering soon took the form of a relay protest, with women relieving each other and men providing support. The protestors want the government to pass resolution in the assembly against CAA and NRC.

By Tuesday afternoon, at least 500 women had turned up, and the road was filled with women and children holding placards and the Tricolour. One such protester, Asma Khan, said she had been coming from the first day after tending to the needs of her family, which includes her five children. Senior citizens too have been participating. Several people were seen cheering the protesters and educating them about various problems the people would face on account of the CAA and the NRC.

A teen armed with a country-made pistol opened fire near Jamia Nagar and shouted, “Azadi Chahiye, yeh Loh azadi.” The attacker was identified as a resident of Jewar in Greater Noida. One person was injured in the shooting incident. According to eyewitnesses, the person who had opened fire had chanted pro-Delhi Police and anti-Jamia slogans. He also shouted “Main Deta Hoon Azaadi” (I will give you freedom) as he opened fire. The injured person in the incident was shot in the hand and was identified as Shadab Farooq and was seen being taken away, as he walked with his left hand in blood. He has been taken to the trauma centre of the All India Institute Of Medical Sciences (AIIMS).

The locality has been heavily barricaded after the firing and traffic has been diverted from all the roads near the area.